A Magician's Chronicle
by UnendingEmpire
Summary: A tale about a human girl disliked for her dream of becoming a witch, and the ghost she encounters in the Forest of Magic who offers to train her.
1. Chapter 1: A Fateful Magical Meeting

**Finally, the MariMima fanfic I've wanted for so long! I have not seen a single fanfic starring these two on this website for some reason, so I simply had to write my own sooner or later. It's also the only one I write that takes place exclusively in the past (A Scarlet History jumps from Remilia telling the story in the present to the story itself in the past, and I was trying to do a similar fic starring Sanae) so that's also cool. Oh, for readers of Unexpected Expectation, you know that thing Mima smokes from? It'll be a very long time before she gets that; she stole it during the Mystic Square incident, and this starts a couple years before Story of Eastern Wonderland…before Highly Responsive to Prayers even.**

* * *

It had always been her dream. Magic, that is. But because of that very dream, the name Marisa Kirisame was one that wasn't spoken proudly around the Human Village. Humans and witches never got along, and everybody in the Human Village, including Marisa, knew that fact perfectly well. But Marisa didn't care. She wanted to grasp the magical forces of the universe and use them how she willed. Other folks, including Marisa's own parents, did not approve of this dream. And now today was finally the breaking point, both for Marisa and for the humans that tried to tolerate the girl and her dream.

_BOOM!_ Marisa's newest attempt at trying to grasp magic, gone just as wrong as all the others. Where once stood a tree and Marisa Kirisame, there was a pile of ash and a girl whose face and hair were both covered in soot beyond recognition. She'd been ordered by not just her friends, not just her parents, but everybody in the Human Village, to not make these attempts at becoming a witch. They simply told her that there was no place for such people in the Human Village. Today Marisa had gone against those orders. People were bound to find out; when something in the village exploded, odds were that it was Marisa's fault. And sure enough, as though on cue, two women showed up at the scene. One wore a blue dress with very light blue hair that bordered on white, and the other wore a white shirt and red baggy pants. Keine Kamishirisawa and Fujiwara no Mokou; the two people most known for protecting the village, and the two people who originally told Marisa to not practice here.

"Marisa," Keine said with a mix of exhaustion and anger. "We've been over this a thousand times and more. There's simply no place for magic here. Or have you forgotten about last week's incident when you tried the exact same thing?"

"I haven't forgotten, Ms. Keine." Despite the obvious pile of trouble she was about to wind up in, Marisa couldn't help but grin at the image of that scene from last week. It had been a school day, and Marisa tried to use magic during class, which had ended…well, not too well. Keine's desk had exploded, and the look on Keine's face was priceless until Marisa was punished by the teacher's famous headbutt. "And did I mention how absolutely lovely your new desk is?"

"Don't try buttering me up, Marisa; it's not going to work today. I asked _one_ thing of you; _everybody_ asked one little thing of you, and that was to not try and become a witch. Humans and witches have been at odds for the longest time now, and it's too dangerous for somebody as young as you."

"But that's the problem," Marisa complained. "It's too safe around here; one could say life here is actually pretty dull because of the safety. What about the shrine maiden? She's just as human as I am, but she's out solving Gensokyo's problems all the time."

"I've been to the Hakurei Shrine," Keine said. "And the shrine maiden has a daughter as well. That daughter stays at home and doesn't go out and try to become a witch. In fact, I believe you're the only child in Gensokyo who _does_ want to be a witch. I'm done asking you Marisa, as your teacher I'm _telling_ you that you can't try to become a witch any longer."

"She's right," Mokou said. "You'll only get yourself hurt in the end. For your safety and for everybody else's, you have to stop."

"I won't stop," Marisa said. "And you know I won't. If I just stopped because people told me to, I wouldn't be so close like I am now. I'm almost there!"

"Sorry to hear that, but we can't have you jeopardizing the entire Human Village because of your own personal dream. If everybody else were fine with it, that would be different, but your actions are unnerving and a little frightening, other humans have told me."

"They're not scared. They're jealous. Jealous because I have the will to keep trying after so many failed attempts and despite everybody telling me I can't or shouldn't do it. I'll become a witch, you can both bet your lives on it."

"Your mother would be turning in her grave if she heard that," Keine said sadly.

"Don't you dare bring her into this! She was the one person who ever told me to pursue my dream, and to never look back! How dare you twist her memory like that!" The tone in Marisa's voice made it perfectly clear, even if she was only a child and Keine and Mokou were both adults. Keine had just crossed a very sensitive line. "It's because of that memory that I keep trying; the only thing I could ever do to upset her in death is to give up! I swear on my life, and yours, and the lives of every person in Gensokyo. I _will_ become a witch. I don't care if I have to sell my soul and destroy every last shred of humanity I have, _I will become a witch_!"

"…very well," Keine said, clearly hurt. "If that's what you're certain you must do."

"I'm glad you finally understand, teacher."

"We'll have to kick you out of the village."

"Wh…what did you say?"

"We'll have to kick you out of the Human Village. Everybody has told you at least a hundred times each, witches and humans-"

"Don't get along, I know! Humans hate witches because they supposedly steal the souls of mortal men and place wicked curses on anybody who stands in their way. They're the wretched ladies of the night who have sold their souls to become more powerful, doing anything to get more power; madwomen driven by a lust for infinite power. You've given me this lecture plenty of times. But if kicking me out is the only way I can become a witch, then by all means, remove me. I doubt I'll be missed that much, anyway."

"I'm sure your father will miss you, Marisa. I know I will."

"Ever since I decided to become a witch, he could care less." Wiping the soot off her face and out of her short red hair, Marisa said "If this is the way it has to be, so be it." And with that, she made her way out into the forest.

* * *

**Late that night…**

Marisa couldn't sleep. Not out here, where any given youkai could eat her at any given time. The moon hung full over the Forest of Magic, so at least she could see fairly well in the moonlight. She had to find a special spot; one that would be hard to access, and one that she could easily practice magic in. Once she found such a place…

"Oh, my," a voice echoed throughout the forest, registering in Marisa's ears as coming off from every direction. "What's a young human child doing all the way out here?"

Marisa stood strong, and kept her mouth shut. If she ignored it, whatever it was, surely it would leave her alone. …right?

"Humans are such weak and frail things; they die far too easily. If they get sick, they die. If they get old, they die. Hunger, fatigue, injuries, poison, drowning, burning, electrocution, falling, I could go on all day about things that could kill humans. So tell me, little human, what's a child doing in the Forest of Magic at this late hour, when the youkai run freely and are on the hunt for prey?"

"…I was kicked out of the Human Village," Marisa said. Clearly, whoever owned this voice wasn't going to leave Marisa alone if she kept talking like that.

"Oh? A child, kicked out of home by mommy and daddy?"

"Shut up," Marisa yelled, suddenly angered. The line had been crossed.

"Ooh? Did I pinch a nerve? Is it because of your father, or…your mother?"

"I told you to shut up!"

"Oh, dear. It _is_ your mother, isn't it?"

"Be quiet, or else!"

"Or else what, human? You don't even know who I am, do you? I bet you don't even know where you are, or _who_ you are."

"My name is Marisa. Marisa Kirisame. And if you keep talking about my mother like that, I'll blast that smug little voice right out of your throat!"

"Well aren't you violent?" The owner of the voice materialized in front of Marisa. A tall woman with bright green eyes and long green hair. She wore a blue dress and a cape to match, and a blue hat. "One could even say, given that you're a human child threatening to rip my throat apart, psychopathic is an accurate term."

"So you finally showed yourself," Marisa said. "Now then, who the hell are you?"

"Oh…somebody."

"Answer me! First you talk about my mother, then you're going to not answer me? I want an answer in five seconds or I'll melt your face off!"

"I'll play along, I suppose. My name is Mima. And how would you do that, Marisa?" Mima vanished into thin air, then re-appeared right next to Marisa. "You couldn't lay a finger on me if you tried. Children should stay home at night, especially human children. Since I'm feeling merciful tonight, I'll tell you this one time. Go home now, run along. Back to mommy and daddy."

"I said to not talk about her," Marisa yelled, swinging her fist straight at Mima. But before she could even touch the woman, Marisa's entire body froze. "Wh…what did you do to me? Just what are you?"

"A witch, young lady."

"You're…a witch?"

"Yes." Mima vanished again, and Marisa's body unfroze, but the sudden momentum of being able to move again threw Marisa onto the ground face-first. "She's dead, isn't she," Mima's voice asked, once again resounding from all directions. "Your mother?"

"Be quiet…"

"But, oh dear. She's left her precious daughter behind."

"Stop, now…"

"Perhaps it's for the better," Mima said. "After all, children who get kicked out of home for a mysterious reason are known to just break their mothers' hearts to little tiny pieces."

"Shut up!"

"I wonder how she would feel if she saw you right now. A little human child all alone in the forest late at night, easily susceptible to a fate of falling prey to any number of youkai that wish to make a snack out of little Marisa Kirisame. I'm sure she would be absolutely devastated to see you in this position."

"This is your last warning! Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"

"Oh my, you _are_ an aggressive little girl. Is that why you were kicked out of your village? Because little Marisa would pick on all the other boys and girls, and make them cry home to _their_ mothers? I don't think those other mothers appreciated that very much, Marisa, and I'm sure your mother is also upset."

"For the last time…" Marisa's eye caught a quick glimpse of Mima, flying off to the side as she continued to mock Marisa. That was all she needed. "**SHUT UP!**" On instinct, Marisa's hands flew in the direction of Mima, and from them fired a massive beam of light, obliterating everything in its wake. Marisa was certain of it; that was the end of Mima.

"Oh my, that _was_ impressive," Mima said (much to Marisa's shock) when the beam vanished, floating just behind Marisa. "Is _that_ why you were kicked out?"

"Because of my dream to become a witch. But after meeting you, I can see why they don't want me to live that life. You're cruel and hateful, and you enjoy mocking and hurting others until they reach a breaking point."

"Oh, come now, Marisa. That was only to make you angry; I can be much kinder if I want to. In fact, after that show of power, even _I_ am rather impressed, and it's rare that somebody manages to impress me. You said you wanted to become a witch, I believe?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So," Mima proposed. "If you really want to become a witch, perhaps I can teach you. All the arcane secrets that humans have come to fear and detest, in the palms of your hands. Let's face it, we need each other right now. No human can become a witch without guidance, and living alone all the time gets awfully lonely after some time." Holding out a hand, Mima asked "So, Marisa, how about it?"

"…" Was Mima for real? First she mocks Marisa to the point that she'd just blown a pretty large portion of the Forest of Magic off the face of Gensokyo, and now she wanted to teach her? But Mima was right. There was no way Marisa would be able to do this alone. Not only that, but unleashing that massive blast really knocked it out of her; something she was beginning to realize now that she was relatively calm. "…I'll do it. But there won't be any talk about my mother."

"As you wish, my apprentice. Now then, shall we go home? I live here in the forest; thankfully that attack of yours missed my home by a long shot."

"Yes, please…Mima-sama."

* * *

**First off, I have Keine and Mokou in there because it was either them, Marisa's father, or an OC. I have trouble putting OC characters in fanfics and Marisa's father is…well, a man. So Keine and Mokou it was, since they both guard the Human Village anyway.**

**Secondly, the Hakurei miko Keine mentions isn't Reimu; the daughter is. And third, I'm skipping Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream if I actually write out the incidents from the Touhou games; I'm also skipping Phantasmagoria of Flower View if I get that far. If I actually make it to Mountain of Faith (since I'm skipping PoFV) it'll probably end up being a lot more about Marisa than Mima, since, you know, ZUN is trolling his fandom by not bringing Mima back in the Windows games.**

**I'm sure she'll appear in most if not all of these incidents, though. I'm thinking that once I hit the Windows series, I'll name the chapters after the soundtracks from the games. For example, when Marisa fights Remilia, name it after her theme, and before…oh wait, ZUN's song names are too damn long. I'll use short names then :D**

**Like Transient Faith (Faith Is For The Transient People) or if I can fit the song name in, there we have it, like Necrofantasia.**

**Last thing, I'm not only skipping the Phantasmagoria games, but I'm also skipping Highly Responsive to Prayers and all the spinoff games, including the fighting games.**


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome Home

**It took me some time to get this chapter done because I was stuck and couldn't think of anything to do. I guess my mind naturally clears itself of thought. Given this chapter, I'm sure Mima-sama would make a great apprentice out of me :D**

**Either that or I'd become her newest plaything to use as she pleased. Either one's fine with me.**

* * *

"So, what do you think?"

"I could get used to living here." Marisa liked the way this house looked. It was out in the Forest of Magic, deep in where most people would get lost. It was a brown house, with plenty of windows, though all of them had curtains that blocked anybody from peeking in. It also seemed somewhat old; there was ivy growing up along the walls. "So this is your house, Mima-sama?"

"And yours as well, Marisa. We're master and apprentice, so what's mine is yours." Mima opened the door from afar with magic, and said "Your new life awaits you; your life as a witch."

"Awesome…"

"The word 'awesome' won't do justice after due time. After some time, you'll be searching for words more along the lines of 'divine' or such."

"You mean…I could become a god?"

"Physiologically speaking, no. Apotheosis isn't something that can be attained by just any human. However, if you work at it, and become more than any mere human after so many countless years of harnessing your magical potential and pushing yourself to and beyond your absolute capabilities, you'll be about as close to godhood as you can possibly be, like myself."

"That powerful, huh?" As Marisa stepped up to and through the doorway, the young witch said "We'd better start then, Mima-sama."

"Not yet. Like the aforementioned ascension to godhood, magical training is no easy task, and is actually somewhat risky until one has a firm grasp on magic. As you are, training in your tired state could not only kill you, but demolish my house with it. We begin training in the morning, Marisa."

"Understood."

"I should warn you, though, before you make yourself comfortable." Mima followed into the house, closing the door behind her. "To reach the coveted state of a true witch, you must be willing to risk whatever you have. People can and do die or go irreversibly mad in their training, but the ones who make it through alive and at least somewhat sane…their power borders on poetic. Are you truly willing to take these risks, Marisa?"

"I'll do whatever it takes. I promised to someone very important that I would follow my dream of being a witch; that I would follow it to the bitter end no matter how what it takes."

"Honesty is a noble trait, but it is also one most witches do not possess. However, I see this promise means a lot to you, so I won't discuss the topic further. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you."

* * *

**The following morning…**

A pair of red eyes opened to see the ceiling above their owner. "So it wasn't a dream," Marisa said to herself. Indeed, it was no dream. The events that transpired last night were very much real, and Marisa was now an apprentice to the powerful Mima. There was no questioning her master's power; Marisa could almost see the sheer power of her magic. She was honored to be the apprentice of such a powerful witch. And on this day, Marisa's training to be just as powerful would begin.

"I see you're awake," Mima said, sitting in the corner of the room. "Good morning."

"Aah! Mima-sama! How long were you there?"

"Since last night, when I showed you this room. I have to make sure you don't do anything in your sleep that you would regret in the morning, after all; the awakening of one's magical potential has caused quite a few young witches-in-training to have some rather violent sleepwalking behaviors."

"…"

"You're fine, though. Perfectly normal sleeping habits, if a little loud when snoring."

"I-I don't snore!"

"I hate to break it to you, Marisa, but yes. You snore. Loudly."

"…"

"Anyway," Mima said, getting up to her feet. "Shall we start your training?"

"Oh, yeah!" Marisa hopped out of bed with newfound eagerness, and enthusiastically asked "So what are you gonna teach me? How to shoot a fireball? Turning people into frogs? Or maybe something I can't even imagine!"

"You're quite the excitable type, it seems. No, you won't be learning any of those things today. We'll spend today and the next few days teaching you to use your magic at will. Your attack last night, as powerful as it was, can easily be more focused and stronger if used at will. Plus, having magic and not knowing how to command it always leads to adverse effects; whether they affect the witch or her environment is impossible to determine unless the side-effects begin to reveal themselves. We have two days before that happens, so let's begin."

"Let's get to it!"

"Wait…first, get dressed. There's an outfit in your closet fitting for a witch; I'll get started on breakfast so that you're well-fed for your training. I hope you like mushrooms."

"Not particularly…"

"I'm sure you'll develop a taste for them." As Mima made her way to the door and out the room, she dropped a quick lecture about mushrooms, partially because she could and partially because it was important information to any witch. "See, mushrooms, especially those here in the Forest of Magic, have unique properties that enhance one's magical capacity. It doesn't make one more powerful, mind you; they just make you able to use magic for longer without harming yourself. Nothing can increase your magical potential beyond the limitations set on you at birth besides training to the point that those limits are removed, but capacity is a different story."

* * *

**Five hours later; outside Mima's house…**

"…I don't feel any different."

"Then you're not there yet."

"We've been at this for five hours, Mima-sama! How much more do I need to just sit here?"

"Until your magic potential is unlocked. And you're not just sitting here, Marisa; you _should_ be trying to clear your mind entirely of any form of thought."

"No thinking? Alright, lemme give it a shot…" Marisa did her very best to clear her mind entirely of thought. Don't think about the forest around her. Don't think about Mima or herself. Don't even think about thinking or not thinking. …no good. Marisa's young mind was one that couldn't not think, and it showed by the increasing frustration on her face. "I can't do it!"

"Believe me; you can do it, Marisa. I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I want you to answer them without any thought. I won't take any offense to whatever you may say, so don't worry about thought for even a second."

"Alright, I guess."

"What color is the sky?"

"Blue."

"My hat?"

"Blue."

"The color of water?"

"Blue."

"What color is my hair?"

"Blue…no, wait, green! It's green!"

"Damn. You were almost there, too." Mima took a seat next to Marisa, and said "You didn't even think before you said my hair was blue, even though you _know_ it's green. You weren't thinking at all, and I need you to be able to do that whenever you wish if we're going to make you the witch you so deeply desire to be. It looks like this method works well with you, so we'll try it some more, albeit with different questions to create some variety in your training."

"Okay, let's try again!"

"How enthusiastic. You'll make a wonderful apprentice. Now then…how many mushrooms did you eat for breakfast?"

"Three."

"What is one plus two?"

"Three."

"Six minus three?"

"Three."

""How many eyes do I have?"

"Three."

"How many eyes do _you_ have?"

"Three."

"Are you even thinking when you answer these questions?"

"Three."

"Well done!"

"Huh?"

"You didn't even catch the last few questions, did you? I asked how many eyes I had, and you said three again. You even said _you_ had three eyes when I questioned it. The last question was if you were even thinking when you answered the questions, and do you know what answer you gave me?"  
"Three?"

"Exactly. So, what are you thinking about right now?"

"…nothing. Hey, I did it!"

"Now that you can clear your head of thought with assistance, we need to start getting you to do it on your own. What were you doing in your head when your thought stopped?"

"I'm not sure, really. I just, well, stopped thinking altogether. …Is it really that easy, Mima-sama?"

"Indeed it is. Just stop thinking altogether. Magic is at its strongest when a witch's mind is clear of outside thought, so this mind-clearing process is essential for any witch to learn. The greatest witches can clear their minds of thought instantaneously, and are easily able to switch between thoughts focused solely on magic and outside thoughts. I'm certain you can be such a witch if you work at it."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Undoubtedly. There's no reason you can't become such a witch, and I believe some congratulations are in order, Marisa."

"For what?" Did she do something? Well, there was the mind-clearing thing, but Mima already congratulated her for that.

"You've taken the first step on the road to becoming a witch. I'm certain that as long as you're willing to continue down this road with the same drive and strength of mind and will you took this first step with, making it the rest of the way will be a menial task for you."

* * *

**Mima believes in her apprentice. Seeing that in this fic makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, even though I'm the one that wrote it. I think those fanfics are my best ones; that I feel as the character does despite being the writer who usually doesn't feel as his protagonists do. Take Extra Set of Hands for example; it warms my heart to see Meiling and Yoshika working together and seeing how Meiling's got her friend's back. I'm still half-awake, so that's the best example I can think of since it's my newest fanfic, but now that I'm thinking a little harder, I felt pretty much the same as Mokou a lot in my TeruMoko fic.**

**Also, I like how Azure said that this fanfic is really Touhou-esque. It's those kinds of things that make me feel awesome about my fanfics, and that awesome feeling helps me bring out even better chapters, which in turn feel more Touhou-esque to some folks, and when they say so…see? It's an infinite spiral**


	3. Chapter 3: Mother

**I think this chapter is very touching near the end. I know that I was touched at least. This is the chapter that's going to establish the relationship between Mima and Marisa for the rest of the fanfic, so it's a vital turning point. Also, I was going to change the author notes at the end of the latest chapter of The Traveling Gourmet to have a preview for the next chapter in this fanfic, but I decided "fuck it, I'll just end up writing it before I upload the chapters if I do" which is what happened with this chapter.**

**Originally there was a preview for the second chapter that talked about how Marisa and Mima go home and stuff, and then I changed it to the current one after that chapter finished. I refuse to change that preview again, and I refuse to do previews more than once or twice a month while I'm refusing to do stuff.**

* * *

It was nighttime in Gensokyo, and sitting inside a house nestled within the Forest of Magic was Mima and Marisa, across from each other at the table inside the house, eating dinner. Tonight's was some rather simple hot soup Mima stirred up. "You did well this morning," Mima complimented. "Did I already tell you that you remind me of a witch I used to know?"

"I don't think you said that," Marisa said between spoonfuls of soup. "Who was she?"

"A young human girl with a dream, very much like yourself. People would always tell her that she was wasting her time pursuing magic; that she'd only hurt the ones that she loved the most. But she didn't care what they said, and she chased that dream with more passion than any human in her little village that was nestled away safely in the outside world. She eventually met her own master in the woods under circumstances similar to those that we met in; the woman that became her master encountered her late at night and began mocking her until the master was nearly blown away by a blast of magic."

"Wow…go on."

"Unlike yourself, the girl wasn't so great in her studies to become a witch, but her passion and desire to become a witch was second to none in the outside world or any other. It took her a week or so to unlock her magic potential, but she eventually came out triumphant. But that's all I'm sharing with you for now. As you continue to progress down the road to becoming a witch, I'll continue telling you about that girl. For the time being, you need to eat. You'll soon find that magic can work up quite an appetite, which could explain why a child was able to eat three whole mushrooms for breakfast."

"Alright." Now Marisa had two reasons to become a witch! First and foremost, it was her dream since she was a toddler, and nothing was ever going to change that dream. Secondly, she wanted to know what happened to that girl. But Mima was right about the appetite thing; Marisa was pretty hungry.

* * *

**The following day, at high noon…**

"I don't think I'm doing it right."

"Try it again for me, Marisa. Let's see where you're getting this wrong."

"I'm doing just like you said, Mima-sama; establish the target, focus, and let loose with a spark. But it's not sparking." Marisa thrust her palm forward to try and create the laser, but to no avail. "I got it to work one time, but it was all twisty and misshapen; not at all like yours."

"It might be a posture thing." Mima straightened out Marisa's arms, and felt around on her shoulders. "Your shoulders are too tense. As a witch, your shoulders are one of your most important body parts; it's the turning point in the road on which magic transfers from your mind to your hands. If you're tense, all you're doing is blocking that road." Mima's apprentice was also slouching a bit. Straightening her back, Mima said "Straight back, loose shoulders, and firm arms. Attacks aren't usually a good starting point for this and similar reasons, but I'm confident in your abilities. After this, we'll try some simpler stuff. Does that sound okay with you?"

"Well, I…"

"Clear your mind, Marisa. Don't think; just loosen your shoulders and focus on only the spark. Once you've done that, it should come naturally. Think about when we first met and I was mocking you; you unleashed quite a spark there."

"But you just said to not think a few seconds ago!"

"I suppose I did, didn't I? I'm glad to see you've figured out how important it is that one doesn't think outside thoughts when using magic. No thoughts but the spark, alright?"

"You've got it."

"_Straight_ back." Mima straightened up her apprentice's posture once again. "That's why the spark you fired earlier was misshapen; you need a straight back, relaxed shoulders, and firm arms. Like so." Mima got into the posture she specified, and focused on the target. In this case, it was a magic-resistant circle of wood with colored rings painted on it, with white right in the center. Then Mima's arm shot forward, and from the palm of her hand, a bright green laser that hit the target right in the middle. Bull's eye! "A spark is a very powerful attack, but if you don't have the right posture for it, it becomes unstable and you could potentially give yourself fatal injuries or irrevocable mental trauma. Believe me when I say this; you _don't_ want a spark to backfire on you."

"Right. I'll keep doing this until I've got the spark nailed!"

"Good to hear, but don't push yourself, Marisa. Remember, you're still human, and you still need to eat and sleep just like any other human."

* * *

**Late that night…**

"My, she's certainly determined," Mima mused to herself, looking out at Marisa from the upper-story window in her house. She'd been out there trying to master the spark for at least eight hours, and for a novice to be able to try for this long without tiring…either Marisa's magical capacity was beyond Mima's expectation, or her foolishness was. Whichever one held true, it was getting late and Marisa needed to eat some dinner and sleep. So Mima opened the window, and called down "Marisa! That's enough for today, come inside and get some food and rest."

"One more try," Marisa called back up. "Please?"

"…I don't see why not, but don't hurt yourself."

"Thank you, Mima-sama!" Right, one more try. Marisa would give this one her all! Straight back, relaxed shoulders, and firm arms. The witch established her target. Anywhere on the painted target in front of her would work, or even missing it was fine so long as she fired a spark! Now to block out any thoughts about anything other than magic. Marisa didn't think about the forest around her, or the black and star-dotted night sky above her head, or even the beautiful full moon. Her only thoughts were those of the spark. Marisa thrust her palm forward, and to her great delight, the spark fired out! "I did it! Mima-sama, I did it!" A nice, powerful, steady laser from the palm of her hand.

"Well done! Now…" Something was wrong. "Marisa!" Not a second later did the spark begin to fluctuate, becoming more like a free-flowing burst of pure magical energy instead of the firm laser that a spark was. And then it all condensed into a glowing ball right in front of Marisa's palm, and exploded. That was exactly what Mima had feared. The spark backfired on Marisa, but there was no way to tell if she was okay from up here. Mima leapt out of the window and ran to Marisa's side. "Marisa! Are you alright?"

"M-M-Mima-sama!"

"Shhh. You don't have to cry." Wiping the tears off her apprentice's face, she continued "Are you okay?"

"N-No! I can't do this," Marisa wept. "I can't do this, Mima-sama."

"Of course you can," Mima said softly. "You just messed up is all. Accidents happen to even the best of us, but that's not my concern. You're certain you're not injured?"

"I'm not injured." Marisa still sounded panicky, though. "But I'm not okay."

"Hold still for a moment." Mima placed her hands on the sides of Marisa's head. Mind-reading wasn't Mima's strong suit, but she could do it if her hands were on the person's head. And what she found sent a quick shot of worry through her body. Marisa was certainly uninjured by the spark backfiring, but the backfire gave her some mental trauma. Hopefully it was something that would resolve itself in due time, but for now, Marisa was in no shape at all to learn or practice magic. "We're going to take a few days off from your studies, Marisa."

"B-But I promised! I promised I'd become a witch and now…I-I failed as a witch!"

The apprentice was still crying. Mima wrapped her arms softly around Marisa, placing one hand on the back of her head. She didn't really approve of using mind-reading like this, but she had to make an exception. Mima needed to know the answers that she'd never get otherwise. She needed to know how Marisa's mother calmed the girl down when she was distressed.

"Everything's going to be fine," Mima said calmly, rubbing Marisa's back in circles. "Just listen to the sound of my voice."

"!"

"I'll make you some hot tea, and we'll sit down and talk, Marisa. You have to calm down, though…"

"How did you know," Marisa asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

"It hurts far worse when you're hurt on the inside, Marisa, but…"

* * *

_"You're a big girl now, sweetie. I need you to be tough, okay? The rest of them don't understand how much it means to you; your dream to be a witch, but I do. But witches don't cry, honey, so I need you to stop the tears, okay?"_

* * *

"…m-mommy…" Marisa could already feel her eyes welling back up as she subconsciously clung closer to Mima. Her dearest memory out of her entire life span, rocketing up to the surface.

"What?"

And soon, Marisa found herself wailing into Mima's shoulder. "I miss her," Marisa sobbed. "I miss my mother! I tried so hard to not cry and I did so good, Mima-sama! But I just want my mother back!"

"…" Mima continued the circular rubbing of Marisa's back, saying "I'm certain you miss her; there was never a doubt in my mind that you didn't. She loved you dearly and unconditionally, and she was always there to support you. But she was wrong about one thing."

"What was it?"

"Even witches have to cry sometimes. It's nothing to be ashamed of if you need to cry, Marisa. I know I can never replace your mother, but I'll do my absolute best to try and give you the same love and affection that she did."

"Do you…-sniff- do you really mean that?"

"I swear on my honor as a witch, I mean it. Even if I'm not her, I'll try to make you feel just as loved as you were when she was around, okay?"

"…" Marisa hugged Mima tightly, wiping the tears off her face. "Thank you, Mima-sama."

"It's the least I can do for you, Marisa. How about some nice hot tea?"

* * *

**Like I said, I think this part at the end was very touching; quite possibly the most touching moment I've ever written in any fanfic ever. I think the person who would be most able to confirm that is Azure Xuchilbara since he's read just about every fanfic I've ever written.**

**Don't forget that Marisa still has some mental trauma from that spark backfiring. Whether it's permanent or not is your guess; I already know the answer. …oh, I realized something! Mima's referenced in Stage 1 of EoSD when Marisa says something along the lines of "If she were here, she'd say 'it feels so romantic out tonight" isn't she?**

**:D ZUN, you brilliant bastard. If Touhou 14 has Mima, I'll purchase, not download, but PURCHASE a copy and have it imported from Japan! Screw the importing fees, ZUN gets my money if Mima comes back!**


	4. Chapter 4: Master the Spark

**First off, I want to apologize for the MASSIVE delay in this chapter. It isn't an "I was moving" thing, and it's not something that I'm going to snake out of by saying that masterpieces take time. For a good amount of time, I outright neglected this cream-of-the-crop fanfic; this diamond in a silver mine that is my career.**

**So, you know that story Mima's been telling? Do you know who she's been talking about? I bet you do. If not, you will by the end of the chapter.**

* * *

Mima and Marisa sat at the table with cups of hot tea. "Feeling better, Marisa?"

"A little bit. Thank you, Mima-sama. I can't thank you enough."

"You don't have to thank me at all; it's the least I can do for you." After a sip of tea, Mima said "I think it's time to continue that story I was telling you."

"Yeah. Did that girl ever learn to use the spark?"

"In truth, she _invented_ it. When she was mocked by her master on the night that they first met, that girl fired off a massive laser the same as you, and the first spell she mastered was one of her own creation; a variation of her instinctive attack which came to be known as a spark."

"That's amazing…" So the girl invented the spark because it was like the attack she used when her master mocked her. Interesting… "Do you know what kind of stuff her master said?"

"Things along the same general line that I used on you. Insults pertaining to the girl's mother. See, you and her actually had a _lot_ in common; she was a young human girl with a dream of becoming a witch, and the only person who really believed in her was her mother, who died when she was young."

"That's horrible…"

"I knew that the girl was hurt deeply when I saw her, so when I saw the same hurt on your face minutes ago…I guess it hurt me as well. I don't ever want you to feel that kind of pain again, Marisa, and I'll stick with you until the bitter end. Even if Gensokyo itself crumbles to dust and I can only rescue one of us, I'll find a way to get us both through."

"That means a lot to me…but the girl. Do you know where she is now?"

"I can't say I do. She's lived for a very long time, as have I, and for all I know, the girl could be dead."

"Dead?"

"Don't worry yourself, Marisa; you still have some mental trauma from your spark backfiring. We're going to take a few days off from your studies in the hopes that it's something that can be healed by some tender loving care. If it's irreversible…"

"What happens then, Mima-sama?"

"If your mental trauma can't be healed, we'll need to stop your studies permanently."

"You can't do that," Marisa said, beginning to panic.

"You would go absolutely mad beyond any hope of redemption. As much as I'd hate to see you so deeply hurt by not being able to fulfill your promise, I could never forgive myself if I let you fall into madness because of it. Your madness would drive you to try harder and harder to become a witch, and in the end, you may very well lose your humanity or even your life. As the closest thing to a surrogate mother, I simply can't allow that."

"B-But I swore it! I swore I'd become a witch; I swore on my mother's grave!"

"!" It was that important to her, then. "…I see. We'd better hope your trauma can be healed, in that case. For now, finish your tea and then we should both get some sleep."

"Okay." Marisa wanted to ask something, but…it felt stupid to her. But Mima _did_ say "surrogate mother" so she'd be fine with it, right? Wouldn't she?

"What's bothering you, Marisa?"

"Mima-sama…can I sleep in your bed?"

"…"

"I'm sorry I asked! I-It's just that, I never really had the chance to sleep with my mother in her bed, and…"

"Of course you can."

* * *

**The following morning…**

Mima didn't sleep. She didn't really have to, being a ghost and all. Marisa, on the other hand, most certainly did sleep. She fell asleep almost as soon as she laid down for bed, comfortably under Mima's arm and a soft blanket. Sure, Mima could have gotten out of bed at any point in time, but she didn't want to. It would be unfortunate if Marisa were to wake up to the sudden realization that Mima wasn't in the room with her any longer. At the least, it gave her plenty of time to think about just what had transpired over the last couple days. Perhaps an apprentice like Marisa was exactly what Mima needed.

"Nng…"

Marisa was waking up! "Good morning, Marisa. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Mima-sama."

"Good. Clear your mind for a moment…" Mima placed her hands on her apprentice's head. She had to see if any of Marisa's trauma died out yet. "…oh, my."

"What?"

"This is…unprecedented. In all my countless years, not once have I seen this happen before."

"What's the matter, Mima-sama?"

"…Marisa, just how sure are you that you're human?"

"W-What do you mean? Mima-sama, you're starting to scare me."

"Apologies. It's just that, overnight, _all_ of your mental trauma has faded away. This has never happened before; even I took a good two days to get better when a spark backfired on me back in my younger days. This is something I never imagined possible, much less from a human; a human _child_ no less."

"Impressed?"

"That's quite an understatement. I'm baffled, amazed, dumbfounded…I can't even think of a word to describe it. Shall we get back to your training?"

"Let's eat first, Mima-sama. You said a witch's appetite is important."

"Indeed I did." Getting up out of bed, Mima said "You're an astounding apprentice."

* * *

**After breakfast; outside Mima's house**

"Be careful this time," Mima said with a hint of concern. "The rate that you healed at was beyond words, but I don't want you pressing your luck on it happening twice. Is your posture correct?"

"Yep. Straight back, loose shoulders, firm arms. I've got this one covered, Mima-sama." Marisa did the same things as she did last night; establish her target and cancel out any thoughts unrelated to the spark she was going to fire. Marisa thrust her hand forward! _BWOO!_ A firm and steady laser fired forth from her palm, hitting the target, even if it was only on the edge. "I'm doing it, Mima-sama!"

"Good job! Hold it for a little longer…aaand…yes! That's most certainly a spark, Marisa!" Mima was proud of her apprentice, and the ear-to-ear smile on her face said that much. "While your capacity for magic is certainly impressive as you demonstrated by practicing so long and hard yesterday, judging by this spark, your final potential may be somewhat…lacking."

"Are you saying I'll be weak as a witch, Mima-sama?"

"Not entirely. For one, humans generally have lower magic potential than most forms of youkai, so I may simply be comparing your magic potential to that of a youkai. For a human, your potential is actually quite high. This isn't a matter you should concern yourself with quite yet, however. For now, focus on reaching your maximum potential, and then we'll see what we can do about pushing it even further."

* * *

_Marisa, only twelve at the time she met Mima, trained long and hard under her ghostly master's tutelage. Every day, she would improve and do something else that would amaze Mima, be it a display of sheer power or mastering a complex spell. Today was a four-year celebration of Marisa and Mima becoming master and apprentice, and it was celebrated with cake made by the arcane powers of Mima herself._

* * *

"Baking probably isn't the greatest use for magic," Mima said between small bites of cake. "It stands to reason that I should use it for that cause, though; I'm horrendous in the kitchen to be completely honest. You're nearly done your training, Marisa. If I were to compare your power now to what awaits you at your full potential, I'd rate you at approximately sixty, or maybe seventy. Then we'll see about methods of turning you into a youkai to further enhance your potential."

"That's a pretty good plan." Mima's cake never failed to satisfy, even if it was made by the magic instead of the witch herself. These last four years had started rough, but something was bugging Marisa a little bit. Mima had never continued telling the story about the mysterious girl that had so much in common with her. "Mima-sama, that girl you would tell stories about. What happened to her? The last thing you ever told me was that she invented the spark, but after that, you just up and stopped telling me about her."

"Really?" Mima took a small sip of hot chocolate, looking out at the snowy Gensokyo. "Let's see now, she met her master, began training, invented the spark…it's actually a very, very long story, and much of the girl's life is a large haze to me."

"That's a shame. Do you at least know the end of the story?"

"I can't say I do, Marisa." Snowy weather was always distracting to Mima. Why on earth wouldn't it be? "The girl is dead; she died a very long time ago of frostbite."

"Well, that explains something at least." It explained why Mima was so very cautious about winter training. She'd often remind Marisa that it was important to be careful when using magic, but she seemed to say it at least fifty times a day during the winter months. "Was it a magic issue?"

"In fact, yes. Shamefully, she died _during_ training, just days before mastering the spark. A spark backfired on her during a mild blizzard, and both of her legs broke. Her master wasn't watching, and before long the girl was buried under the falling snow." Mima's expression grew more and more grim as she continued, as well as becoming outright sorrowful. "She wasted away under that white blanket of death for days, unable to move her arms under the snow and incapable of standing on two broken legs. She started suffering from frostbite the night her spark backfired, but during her final days, starvation, loneliness, despair…the knowledge that her end was near." Using the mind-clearing techniques she'd taught to Marisa, Mima got rid of those thoughts. "If it's okay with you, I'd rather not talk about her death. As for her afterlife, she's still around, teaching magic to the people she thinks are worthy. Even though she wasn't so great in her living studies, in death, she became one of the greatest witches in history."

"That's quite a story. I'd be honored to meet that witch."

Mima chuckled a little bit, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "You mean you still haven't figured it out yet, Marisa? Haven't you ever wondered why I never called the girl by name? Or why I never mentioned what she looked like, or anything that could identify her?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"This story I've been telling you, Marisa, about this witch that you'd be so honored to meet. I was kind of hoping you'd figure it out yourself, that I've been talking about _me_ this whole time."

"Y-You? No way!" Marisa either didn't want to believe it, or just had trouble accepting that this witch she'd been imagining all this time was her own master. The apprentice outright refused to believe that Mima ever had any trouble studying magic, and that she'd die of something like frostbite. Or maybe she just didn't want to believe it. "And that's why the story isn't over yet…"

"Precisely. Because that girl has an apprentice of her own, who will someday take on an apprentice to call _her_ own, and that apprentice will tell a similar tale. Only, you won't be telling my tale, Marisa. When you have your own apprentice, it's going to be you that's the main character in the amazing stories your apprentice will remember for her whole life. Until that time, however…" Taking a bit of cake, Mima said "We're not done writing your prologue just yet."

* * *

**Mima's my number-one favorite Touhou character, and Marisa's in the top three as well. Why I haven't been giving this fanfic the attention it deserves is beyond me. I had no idea about Mima's death, but I once had a theory that Mima and Yuyuko knew and loved each other in life, and that Mima was very jealous of something and eventually killed Yuyu in a blind rage by stabbing her in the stomach. Then, stricken with grief over what she'd done, Mima killed herself with the same knife.**

**Stomach wound makes for a hungry ghost. Mima's knife suicide means she has a knife in TH1. I was actually going to do a fanfic that played on that theory, only the theory grew a little bit while I was writing this; originally my theory was that the two hated each other. Now that the theory is that they loved each other, I might actually write a fanfic about it.**

**Or I could just stick with Mima dying of frostbite and the common fan theory of Yuyuko killing herself with a knife. I've had many theories before.**

**On a note related to neither Mima nor Yuyuko, but related to theories, my earliest days as a Touhou fan were characterized by me thinking Yukari was the goddess of the Hakurei Shrine. It DOES make sense, doesn't it?**


	5. Chapter 5: Unincarnation

**This couldn't have possibly landed on a better chapter, I think. You'll understand why about halfway in. Remember what I said near the beginning of the story? I may not go all the way with it, but I'll get through at least one or two of them. Trying to be as vague as possible here so that if you forgot, there aren't spoilers.**

* * *

"Yuka, this is my second apprentice, Marisa. I insist that you don't treat her in the ways that I've heard you treat folks." Mima had heard stories around Gensokyo that Yuka was rather frightening. The Ultimate Sadistic Creature, Mima heard she was being called these days if memory served. "Anyway, I'm guessing you'd like to know about that massive spark?"

"You guessed right," Yuka said, helping herself to a glass of wine and a slice of cake. "Was there a fight here or something?"

"I'm afraid not. See, it was Marisa here who fired that." Cue spit take. Red wine was a bitch to wash out of Mima's green hair, and with that said, she looked displeased, but not to the point that she was going to attack her own former apprentice. "_Yes_, she's only human, and _no_, she's not under any form of possession. As human as I once was."

"But you're no longer human," Marisa said. "You're a ghost now."

"Indeed. Marisa, may I see your grimoire?"

"Sure. What for?"

"Just seeing something is all." Marisa had put that rune in here, right? If not, Mima would do it personally. A wave of relief ran over the ghostly witch when she found that it was indeed there. "You're now a fully independent witch, with no need for a master."

"…"

"Yuka, would you kindly return home? I recall you having a similar reaction when I had this talk with you." Waiting for the flower youkai to shut the door on her way out, Mima turned back to Marisa. "Please don't get the wrong idea, Marisa. I love you as though you're my own flesh and blood, but I simply can't stay forever."

"…please," Marisa begged, beginning to shake in her chair. "Don't go."

"I must. There are others out there who dream of becoming a witch, and there aren't enough of us to keep all of those wishes granted just yet. I want you to have a few things, though; take good care of them just in case I come back someday."

"Please!"

"Stop begging; it's only going to make this harder for both of us. First and foremost, I want you to have this house; keep it and do with it what you will. And secondly…" Mima reached for something hidden within her clothes. It was a most handy little device; one that Mima had made herself some time ago. "Hold onto this." It was a jade necklace with a bright star-shaped emerald hanging off as an amulet, with numerous tiny symbols carved into the star. "This is a heavily enchanted necklace; worth a fortune to last thousands of years. Never let it leave your person, Marisa, ever."

"…I can't," the apprentice said. "Mima-sama, I can't!"

"You have to; this is your final step as a witch. No apprentice likes to lose their master, but if I stay, I'm only going to hold you back. I'm very sorry that it has to hurt you so much to lose me, but you need to write the story of your own life; I can't star in any of those chapters in which you've become a full-on witch. Just remember that I'll always be with you, Marisa. In your heart, and in your dreams. I have the utmost confidence that you'll be just as great a witch as me, if not even better, but you need to reach that point on your own." Mima set her priceless necklace on the table, and then, as ghosts will, she started to fade out.

"N-No!" Cue meltdown. "Mima-sama! Please, come back! Don't go, I'm begging you, don't go!"

_"I'm sorry."_

"**Mima-sama!**"

* * *

**Right now; Marisa's house…**

"**Mima-sama!**" Marisa shot up like a puppet on a string. Clutching the green necklace she wore at all times, the witch took deep breaths. Deep breaths, just relax…it was only a dream. Marisa would dream about herself and Mima very often, but very rarely was it this in-depth, and just as rarely was it based on events that had actually happened. It was kind of ironic, now that she wasn't half-asleep; a dream about her dream. How long ago was that? A year? Two? Yes…two years. Marisa got up to her feet, and looked in the mirror. Her short red hair was altered by magic; she'd changed her look to blonde hair with a braid on the right side, accompanied by yellow eyes. Now it was almost summer in Gensokyo. "Maybe I'll go to the shrine," she told herself, putting on her black-white witch outfit. She'd made it herself; her old purple outfit resembled Mima's far too much, and she'd outgrown it anyway. "I'm sure Reimu's not too busy, ze." Marisa wouldn't have seen it, facing away from the mirror and all, that sitting there in the mirror was the green-haired figure of Mima herself.

"!" Marisa suddenly got that feeling that somebody was watching her, and turned around. When she did, though, all she saw was herself staring right back from within the mirror. Mima had once told her that the mirror was magic; that it defied the boundaries of all worlds and acted like a universal gate from one world to another. She could never figure out how it worked, though. Surely if she did, she'd go somewhere that she could once more be united with her master. It saddened Marisa that this wasn't the case. "Well, no time to think about it; I've got some flying to do, ze." Marisa opened her bedroom window, and riding on her broom, rocketed out. Surely, Reimu wasn't too busy right now.

* * *

**Not much later; Hakurei Shrine…**

"Reimu!" Marisa slid open the doors of the Hakurei Shrine, and helped herself in. "You awake in here?"

"No," Reimu groggily lied. "Go away, Marisa."

"You've gotta wake up, it's morning!" Opening all the blinds and curtains in the Hakurei Shrine, Marisa continued "You don't wanna be sitting all day in complete darkness, ze!" Complete darkness…hearing that made Marisa stop for a moment. Mima had left her grimoire behind when she left Marisa, and one of her spells was called that. A lot of Mima's spells were too powerful for Marisa to use, even with her hakkero, but quite a few of them she couldn't even understand what they did to begin with. Complete Darkness was one of them.

"Hey!"

"Huh?"

"Are you gonna answer me, Marisa?"

"Sorry. Didn't hear the question, ze."

"I asked you what the hell you were thinking waking me up before the sun's even out. You'd better have quite an explanation."

"What do you mean the sun's not out? Of course it's…" Marisa just now noticed it. No sunlight. No sunlight meant no sun. That was a shame, too. Marisa rather looked forward to enjoying the sunny weather; it was best just before summer like this. "That's weird. It was bright and sunny when I got here, ze. Is it gonna rain or something?" Looking out the window, Marisa froze to find she was probably inaccurate with her weather forecast. Rather than whatever clouds she expected to see, all she saw was mist. Scarlet mist. "Wow…the air looks pissed off, ze." _SLAP!_ "Hey!"

"This isn't any time for joking around," Reimu said angrily. "This is a full-on incident! You should know about incidents, Marisa; you played a pretty big part in one, right?"

"…I'd rather not talk about that," the witch said darkly in her defense. Reimu was referring to when Mima had destroyed the Hakurei Shrine and Marisa had done her best to stop the rampaging miko. It didn't work, and Mima was defeated in the end, but it was the memory that counted. Even now, she'd laugh a little at what the proud and mighty Mima had been reduced to when Reimu resolved that.

* * *

"Ow ow ow ow ow! Don't touch it!" Mima flinched in pain while Marisa put on some bandages over her arm.

"It was _your_ idea, Mima-sama. Maybe the Hakurei power just isn't the best thing to go after?" The apprentice was also riddled with bandages and bruises. Both of them had gotten beaten up pretty badly by Reimu, but Mima seemed to have gotten the worst of it. "She _really_ let you have it, didn't she? I don't think I've ever seen you this beaten up before."

"Q-Quit…ow! Why does it hurt more the second time?"

"Second time? You mean you've had this happen before?"

"Remember our little vacation to Makai a few months ago?"

* * *

Maybe Makai wasn't the _best_ choice for a vacation spot. Well…at least, not if you weren't either a witch in training or the master of said witch. "See how much stronger you are," Mima asked. "Makai is a dangerous place, but magic becomes more powerful here."

"How powerful would _you_ be, Mima-sama?"

"I don't like to brag, but…very powerful. Very powerful indeed. I want you to keep practicing; I need to go somewhere and see somebody about something that may or may not be of a specific degree of importance."

"…okay, I guess…" Mima's massive word trick. Marisa had quite a vocabulary, but when Mima threw in that many big words in one sentence so close to each other, it overloaded Marisa's brain for whatever mysterious reason. "Enjoy your meeting." _Damn that trick of hers._ Not once in her life was Marisa able to get past that.

* * *

"I ran into Reimu, and since I was a stranger in a hostile environment, she just went right at it. The Hakurei power is apparently greater than my own, even when I'm in Makai. I simply must attain that power, Marisa."

"Alright, one more bandage. Hold still, this shouldn't hurt a bit…"

"OW!"

* * *

"Hey!" _SLAP!_

_SMACK!_ Next thing anybody knew, Reimu was on the ground with a black eye and a lack of consciousness. "Um…oops. Sorry, ze. I'll come get you later; I've gotta solve this incident for now ze." And with that, Marisa climbed back on her broom and took off from the Hakurei Shrine. This scarlet mist was an incident that needed solving, and Marisa wanted to resolve this before Reimu woke up and was on her trail; the last thing the witch needed was a mastermind ahead and Reimu in pursuit.

* * *

**I'm not the best at writing danmaku battles, and to top it off, the only games in which I've seen all the way to the final spell are EoSD, IN, and 10D, so I'll have to look at footage for lots of the battles, including ones I've already cleared just so it's fresh in my mind. Please note that I'm only doing spell cards; I don't wanna have to detail how Rumia fired off a bunch of red bullets or how Patchouli likes to spam lasers.**

**Anyway, I think this will be good. I'm also doing extra stages, of which I've only played one; the stage of Flandre Scarlet. Since I don't know the plots behind the extra stages, I'll need to do some research.**

**Kinda hard as I'm writing this down; I don't have internet while I'm keying in this author note, but have instead prepared LOTS of chapters to be uploaded**


	6. Chapter 6: Flower Youkai

**For months, I've been in a complete and utter rut in terms of what to do with this fanfic. Clearly, the previous chapter wasn't a fanfic-ender, so I can't declare it complete. I love a good Mima story (wasn't this more about Marisa?) so I can't ignore it. Then it hit me. Mima had another apprentice. Yuka.**

**I've decided to put this fanfic into three parts. The Marisa Arc, the Yuka Arc, and then if I'm feeling up to it at the end, the Mima Arc. People who read Never Alone probably already know how I interpret Yuka's story, but this is a good chance to elaborate on it, plus put Yuka and Mima together as master and apprentice - something I've NEVER seen before!**

**So, I hope you enjoy what may very well be the first chapter of its kind on this website :D**

* * *

**Approx. 100 years ago; Garden of the Sun****…**

"Don't touch them," Yuka shouted, waving a pink flower umbrella at a group of incoming youkai. "I'm warning you!"

"Hear that? She's warning us!" That roused a nice bit of laughter in the crowd. Yuka was, to put it plainly, one of the weaker youkai in Gensokyo. The one that put herself in charge of tormenting Yuka by taking away the one thing she loved unconditionally - sunflowers - was feared in Gensokyo as the so-called Ultimate Sadistic Creature. Not unlike Yuka, she was a youkai known to carry an umbrella with her, though very much unlike the flower youkai, nothing brought her more pleasure than seeing the weaker youkai squirm and beg for mercy. Once upon a time, she was hailed as one of cutest youkai in Gensokyo, though her sadism cost her that title. Perhaps that was why she tortured Yuka more than anybody; because Yuka was the one who now held the title of "youkai moe" instead of her.

"I'm really warning you," the current youkai moe said again, swinging her umbrella around some more. Even if she tried to act tough, there wasn't really much she could do about these youkai. "If you touch them, I'll…"

"You'll what? Face it, Yuka, you're weak. The extent of your power is giving a flower its petals back if some are missing. For a youkai - a creature that is supposed to be feared by humans - that's pathetic." The USC gripped a handful of sunflowers, and with all her fearsome might, yanked them out of the ground, dropping them just as fast. "As long as there are weak youkai like you, I won't stop until they become powerful. I want to fight you, dammit! I want to fight you on fair terms!"

"…" How often did this crew come through here to torment Yuka by taking away her sunflowers? Weekly? Yes, weekly. Once a week, just as the sunflowers started getting replaced, this team led by the current USC would come and take away all the bright yellow plants Yuka loved so much. This time it would be different, though. This time she wouldn't just stand there while they destroyed her garden. This time…

This time, she'd run away bawling like a child. This was Plan B. Plan A was to fight back, but she'd tried that once and was injured for quite some time. She'd run away from the garden, to the Hakurei Shrine! The miko there (the current one, at least) loved both humans and youkai and often tried to support both sides of the bar. She was wonderful, and powerful enough to defeat any youkai. Yuka would go to the Hakurei miko…

* * *

**One run later; Hakurei Shrine****…**

_KNOCK!_

_SHK!_

"Help me," Yuka begged. "There's these awful people that keep taking my sunflowers away! I just want them to grow and be happy, you know?"

"You again, Yuka?" The miko stepped out of the way and let Yuka in. This Hakurei shrine maiden - Sakura Hakurei - had seen Yuka plenty of times. As far as she could tell, the flower youkai was pretty harmless and only really cared about her flowers. If there were youkai bullying her, they were probably strong. Probably…_that_ youkai. "Come on in. I'll make some hot tea."

"Thank you." Yuka stepped into the shrine, and sat herself down. "You won't believe how mean they are! Every week, right when my flowers start growing again, they come through and rip them all out of the ground. Lots of times, when they're done destroying my garden and beating me up, they'll throw the flowers at me. I just want them to stop."

"It sounds pretty horrible," Sakura commented from where she was making the tea. "So tell me, which youkai in particular are bullying you?"

"*name withheld* and her friends."

"…I can't help you. I'm certainly strong, but *name withheld again* is far stronger. She could kill me if she wanted to." It would really be great if somebody invented some kind of form of combat that didn't kill people when they lost. Maybe someday…

"Please? She's so scary!"

"I know. The best thing I can do for you is give you advice. Try planting your flowers someplace new, far away from the Garden of the Sun. Maybe they won't find you if you do that."

"Hey…you're right!" Yuka knew exactly where to go, too! "Thanks a lot, Ms. Hakurei!" With that, Yuka bolted out of the Hakurei Shrine. She wanted to plant her flowers someplace where they'd be safe. Like, say, behind the shrine. But not so close that she'd be obviously hanging around; perhaps over the small mountains (or were they just big hills?) Yuka saw behind the shrine? It would be a teensy bit of a hike, but Yuka was more than willing to do that for the sake of her beloved sunflowers.

* * *

**One teensy hike later****…**

"Oh…my…god…" This was unexpected. Yuka had once heard there was a lake behind the Hakurei Shrine, but never did she think it would be a lake of blood! She always imagined that the Lake of Blood was just a ghost story to keep troublemakers away from the Hakurei Shrine! But if that part of the story was true…maybe the rest was as well. Maybe there was a god under the lake who could make anything happen. Surely, such a person could defend Yuka's sunflowers! With that kind of thought in mind, Yuka started flying over the lake, looking for a way to get beneath it.

After a bit of flight over the bloody red lake, she found a small island. Perhaps the way down was here? There was also a purple-clad figure on the island, who looked as though she were guarding something. Either that, or she was also searching for the entrance. Yuka's first theory proved correct when the moment her feet touched the little island, the purple-winged girl hissed "Step away!" She seemed to have awfully sharp fangs, not unlike a vampire…

"Did I offend you?"

"My name is Kurumi," the vampire introduced herself as. "I'm the gatekeeper of the Lake of Blood, and I cannot allow you to enter the mansion below this island."

"A mansion? So the stories are true?"

"Yes."

"And there's a god living down there?"

"Uh-huh."

"I need to speak with her! There's these youkai at the Garden of the Sun, and they're all so mean to me; taking my sunflowers and beating me up all the time. I just want to ask the god of the lake for protection is all. I'll be completely harmless."

"I dunno…I was strictly ordered to keep people out."

"I promise~" If there was one advantage to holding the title of "youkai moe" it was that having it meant that Yuka knew how to worm her way into the hearts of anybody who would listen to Yuka's words. Staring Kurumi right in the eyes with two red eyes of her own, Yuka did what the youkai moe did best. Start working her way into the vampire's heart, particularly by getting ready to cry about how bad the bullying was. "Please?"

"I really shouldn't…"

"But they're so horrible," Yuka wailed, bursting out in tears. "I just want the flowers to grow and be happy!"

"H-Hey, don't cry…" Ordinarily, Kurumi could say no to just about anybody, but this green-haired youkai bursting out into tears all suddenly and being so sad about it…the vampire couldn't find it in her to turn this girl down now. Kurumi stepped aside to reveal some sort of trap door, and looked away from Yuka. "If I don't _see_ you get in, there's no harm done…right?"

"Thank you, Kurumi!"

"Don't mention it, just…stop crying, okay?"

"Alright." Yuka wiped the tears off her face, opened the door, and went in. Her feet met a spiral staircase that went down to what looked like the very bottom of the lake. How did the blood (it was certainly red enough) not get near the stairs? Magic? In all her years (which didn't add up to as many as one would guess) she had never seen this kind of magic before. Surely, whatever kind of god lived under this lake, they were powerful! As Yuka came further and further down the stairs, a gigantic mansion came into view. Just on size alone, Yuka was amazed that the whole thing belonged to just one person, god or not. It was more like a royal castle in size, though its design was certainly that of a mansion. A colossal mansion that had rose-adorned vines growing up the walls. She had to meet the god here. No doubt about it.

As Yuka approached the mansion, yet another figure stood faithfully at the doors, with a heavily curved scythe in her hands. Another gatekeeper? "Hold it right there," she said, confirming Yuka's suspicions. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Um…yes," Yuka lied. "I'm supposed to see the god of this mansion today, about protecting my garden."

"Seems like Mima-sama's spreading those god rumors again," the gatekeeper said, swinging the door open. Her job was just to guard the gates; nobody ever told her who was supposed to see Mima and when. Anybody with any guile at all could get past Elly, unlike Kurumi up above the lake who could see right through lies. Good thing the gates weren't Elly's only responsibility, or she'd surely have lost her job by now. "Follow me," she said, stepping into the massive mansion.

"So, can you tell me more? About this Mima person?"

"Mima-sama, whatever she might say, isn't really a god. She's pretty close to it, though, but she's really just the ghost of a witch who died over a thousand years ago. She built this mansion not long after she got to Gensokyo, which she once told me was…oh, some 1,200 years ago."

"Wow!"

"Indeed. So, visitor, do you have a name I could call you by?"

"Yuka. Yuka Kazami."

"Yuka Kazami, eh? I dunno…for a weak-looking youkai like you, that sounds like a pretty strong name. I guess you can't judge a book by its cover, though. I'm Elly, and if you have more appointments with Mima-sama in the future, you can be sure we'll meet again. I'm tasked with being the mansion's gatekeeper, but I also serve as a personal assistant to my glorious mistress, as well as the gardener of the mansion." As Elly and Yuka stepped up to a massive set of doors, the scythe-bearing gatekeeper said "This is your stop; the library. Mima-sama will be right behind these doors, no doubt studying magic. She's been doing this for a few months without even leaving the library." Personally, Elly was getting a bit worried about Mima; this sort of reclusion was very rare for her, not happening since a time before Elly even gained employment here. "If either of you need anything, I'm a shout away."

"I'll keep it in mind, Elly. Thank you." Yuka stepped into the library, and was shocked by the sheer size of the place. Bookshelves that seemed to reach up forever surrounded the flower youkai, and seemed to stretch just as eternally far away in every direction, broken only by a table for four a few feet in front of the flower youkai. There had to be billions, no, trillions of books here! So, where would Mima be? Yuka had to hope that somebody with a mansion this big would be willing to help Yuka and her humble sunflower garden (if it could be called that right now) for free.

"Is that a visitor?" The voice echoed off the walls, dizzying Yuka just a little as its owner spoke. "That would make you the first visitor I've had in…oh, about three-hundred years. Come in, guest, and make yourself comfy at the table." Stepping forth from the horizon of the library came a blue-clad girl, with stunning long green hair and radiant green eyes. In one of her hands was a massive black tome - no doubt on the subject of magic - and the very air around her seemed to bend at her will. Was this the mistress of the mansion?

"Sorry for asking," Yuka said as she sat down at the table. "Are you Mima?"

"Yes. I am Mima, the owner of this mansion. And you would be…?"

"Yuka Kazami. I need you to help me, since the Hakurei miko won't."

"Pffft. You asked a Hakurei for help?" Sitting herself down across from Yuka, Mima said "I haven't heard something that funny in centuries. So tell me, Gullible Yuka Who Asks Hakurei Girls For Help, what do you need?"

* * *

**Mima seems a little different here, doesn't she? Well, it's a whole century before she met Marisa, so it's alright if Mima-sama acts a little different than she did before. Although, even though I may not write it, I want to say one thing about the Mima Arc in the future.**

**I have two different theories as to Mima's past, specifically around her death. One is pretty much what she told Marisa earlier in this fic, but the other involves her being a Hakurei miko herself and committing a love suicide with another ghost who acts as a final boss. Only, we still hear from that other ghost…**

**ZUN! How much alcohol is it gonna take to make you bring Mima back?**

***shrugs* maybe in Hopeless Masquerade…I can only hope ^_~**

**Ah, also, I'm moving in the next couple of days, and I'm not sure how this will affect my internet access.**


End file.
